Ring Around the Rosies
by conquistadors
Summary: The Black Death is something to be feared, something to give up all hope over. It kills, it slaughters. No matter who you are you fall victim and there is nothing to stop the raging disease. Except maybe two brothers. Lovino and Felciano Vargas have lost their Grandfather, and are prepared to die. Lovino is left with no choice, but to look for a cure when his brother falls ill.


Lovino once thought no one could truly say that their life was hell on Earth, but now he thought everyone could say it with certainty. The streets were stacked with bodies resembling the crumbling pillars of a dying race. Seventeen and he already knew that he was destined to die, it was inevitable everyone was succumbing to the this wave of tremendous death, no man could escape it, everyone became equal when this disease swept through. It was funny really, the only way you could ever truly be equal was in death. Raised in a poor life he was always groveling before another more powerful man, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of satisfaction when his lord died, the man was a pig. He always called Lovino lazy when he probably had servants carry him from his bed because he couldn't pull himself up from all the fat his body was surrounded in. But what angered him most about his lord was that he mocked his Grandfather, a man who survived more wars then the lord had ever fought in, which was none. Even in death Romulus would never get the respect he deserved.

The stench of burning flesh wafted up to Lovino's nostrils and swirled around before imprinting it's scent in his nose. Bile rose up in his throat, he swallowed it back down with a despairing heart. He was the eldest now and he had to provide and set an example, which didn't mean much since neither him or his brother probably weren't going to last long. But Romulus' last words told him to hold onto to the little hope he had left while waving his calloused hands at Felciano. His last words may have been whispered to Lovino, but they were meant for his younger brothers ears. Desperately he wanted to be angry about and have the strength to leave his brother behind, he couldn't do it. Lovino resented Feliciano in more ways than one, but he was family and family is meant to die by each other's side.

Lovino reached over to squeeze Feliciano's shoulder and as his fingers brushed across his worn out shirt the little boy collapsed to the muddy and disgusting ground while breaking out in sobs that plucked at his brother's heart strings. A man carrying a woman to be burned called out for Feliciano to shut his mewling, causing Feliciano to howl and nearly fall back into a pile of the dead. In a flash Lovino grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him to his feet. Harshly he brushed off the mud, which made the old cuts and scrapes caused by the work in the lord's field, to burn. Feliciano sniffled and gazed at Lovino with eyes that made him think of shattered glass, Romulus has been his idol and the only parental figure he had. He was there to comfort Feliciano and was there to teach him about the ways of the world. Although funerals were a place for kind words, this hell he once called home wasn't.

Lovino rattled Feliciano like a sack of tomatoes,"You can't cry here, people don't like it, it's loud and annoying and really everyone's fed up of hearing it. So, either do your crying silently or wait until we get home, okay?"

Feliciano nodded looking shaken, and Lovino knew it wasn't from his scolding. Grasping his brother's small hands in his they hurried home making sure to make eye contact with no one. For if they looked like they were seeking out something it would bring trouble. People were in an animalistic mindset, every man for himself and it didn't matter who died or who was killed to survive. The echo of the door slamming shut rang in Lovino's ears like some sick melody. Everything seemed so surreal, he half expected for Romulus to come flying through the door telling some epic tale of how he escaped death. Lovino knew it was impossible, he say his bloody corpse burn himself. He'd rather Feliciano not have seen it, yet he couldn't leave the defenseless thirteen year old boy by himself for fear of the mad people roaming the streets to burst into their home and sacrifice him for God's holy will.

The boy had stopped believing in God when all of this had started. Lovino shrugged of his cloak and pulled out a chair for Feliciano to perch upon. Wetting a rag he slowly cleaned all the muck off of Feliciano. Once he looked as clean as a plebeian could get Romano walked over to the cot and gather up the measly blanket they had. The ragged thing reeked of sickness and was splattered with a revolting shade of red. Lovino kept the little contents of his stomach from spraying all over the dirt floor. He tossed the blanket into the only wooden bucket the owned and began the trek to the well. Before leaving the hut he looked over to Feliciano who stared blanky at the ground, carefully Lovino kneeled down and pulled out the rusty dagger he kept in his right boot. The blade met the rotten wood of their table and Feliciano jumped look like a startled baby rabbit.

Solemnly Lovino told his brother,"If anyone comes in here that isnt me, give them hell."

The walk to the well was uneventful, Lovino scurried along avoiding the wandering eyes of maddened strangers. When he got there it was a different story, a tall angry man with bulging eyes was strangling a younger man, who couldn't be much older than Lovino. The shiny glint of silver appeared out of the taller man's breeches and sunk it's way through the boy's chest. Lovino froze with terror. His feet wouldn't move as the boy took his last gurgling breaths and his eyes stayed fixated on the dead boy as he was thrown into the well. The man's eyes met his and insanity flared in his irises, Lovino screamed for his legs to move but they refused.

The raw voice of a throat tired of screeching pierced through the air,"What are looking at, boy? There's nothing to see here, had to make sure that lying coward died. Think he could get away with springing the devil upon all of us." The madman paused getting up in Lovino's face his putrid breath blowing away an auburn lock of hair. A smirk rose upon his scarred lips and he twirled the blade in his hand as if he were putting on a show,"Unless you have it, too."

Lovino finally reacted and his wooden bucket swung up and knocked hard against the man's face. Legs kicking up dirt like a horse Lovino burst out sprinting going as fast as he could to the hut where Felciano was. He wasn't going to die like this, he didn't want to be impaled by a madman or die with exploding welts of blood all over his skin. No, he would live for that piece of work that was his little brother. Nails dug into Lovino's wrist and a strong arm flung him to the ground. Lovino felt his shoulder hit the ground violently and he was sure it wasn't supposed to bend like that. He quickly regained himself when he saw the maniac grin on the man's face and the blade heading towards his throat.

The bucket catapulted at his face once again, this time he heard the crack of bone. He hit him once again and he didn't, furiously he slammed the wooden thing against the man's skull until the thing broke splintering itself into the side of the man's face. Lovino jerked away, horrified at the sight that lay before him. A battered and bloody face with a look of pure fear on his face had been morphed with the object that beaten him dead. HIs decision to run away came quickly after he saw and realized what he had done.

This had been Lovino's first kill, and it wasn't as glorious as Romulus made it out to be. The boy had seen many people die, but never had he seen one die at the power of his own hands. It didn't feel satisfying and it certainly didn't make him feel mighty like he might have had the delusion of thinking so. Finally, his weak stomach couldn't take it anymore. He vomited on the doorstep to his home, feeling absolutely atrocious and not because of the sickening dinner of scraps they had last night being thrown all over the ground like some demented painting. Instead it was because of the literal and figurative blood on his hands.

Feliciano leaped to his feet when Romano threw himself into the hut, holding the ancient dagger shakily. He dropped it when he saw who it was and rushed to his brother's side clutching at his raggy clothing like it was his lifeline. "Why are you covered in blood? Are you sick? You aren't going to d-"

"It isn't mine," Lovino moaned. His shoulder was throbbing and he couldn't stop the stupid fat tears from rolling down his cheek nor could he stop his brother from hugging his waist tightly like he was a tomato being squashed.

Feliciano took his hand in his blood stained one and let Lovino collapse on the cot. Skipping away the boy brought over the rag and scrubbed away at the fresh blood. He hummed a little tune while he did and made sure he wasn't hurting Lovino and asked constantly if he was rubbing to hard. Lovino made no attempt to respond he was too engrossed at the memory of his murder being played out on the wall. After Feliciano was done, he still didn't feel cleansed.

"I'm going to find us something to eat, fratello."

Lovino turned on his side to make sure that while Feliciano was rummaging about their hut he didn't break anything, objects or bones. When he did he felt sharp pain in his shoulder and heard the crumpling of something underneath him. Carefully, he pulled out a piece of crumpled up parchment. Unfolding it his eyes narrowed in suspicion, the writing scrawled across the paper was clearly made by Romulus' hand, but how could they be his words?

Feeling frightened, enraged, and despaired all at once Lovino crushed the letter into a crude ball and tossed it in the opposite direction. Meanwhile Felciano had found half of the rock like bread they bought at the market weeks before. "Lovino, it isn't moldy! We can eat tonight! Isn't this-"

The paper ball flew past the now wide eyed little boy and bounced against the wall. Feliciano gently left the bread on the table before approaching his now sobbing brother. Lovino's head was in his hands and his shoulders shook, the noise he was emitting now made Feliciano begin to cry with him. Feliciano wrapped his hand in his brother's and squeezed, hard. The boy began to despair when his brother only cried harder, and nearly cried out in shock when his brother's arms were wrapped around him in an embrace.

Never would either brother have thought to see the day when Lovino hugged someone voluntarily. Feliciano curled up into his brother's arms and they both laid back on the bed. There they lay clutching at each other and bawling for the heavy human loss thrust upon them and the futures they would never get to experience.

Still, Feliciano wondered what on that piece of parchment made his brother so upset and Lovino pondered why his Grandfather would put so much faith in such a fool's fantasy. Both let the last slivers of hope disappear from their mind and fell asleep knowing that there was nothing left to live for, but each other. And that in itself cured all thoughts of the plague from their mind, yet not from their hearts.

not edited.


End file.
